ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA

Act 1 Scene 5

(Enter Cleopatra, Charmian, Iras, and Mardian)
l1l	Cleopatra	 Charmian!
l2l	Charmian	Madam?
l3l	Cleopatra	(yawning)
		 Ha, ha. Give me to drink mandragora.
l4l	Charmian	Why, madam?
l5l	Cleopatra	That I might sleep out this great gap of time
l6l		My Antony is away.
	Charmian	You think of him too much.
l7l	Cleopatra	O, ’tis treason!
	Charmian	Madam, I trust not so.
l8l	Cleopatra	Thou, eunuch Mardian!
	Mardian	What’s your highness’ pleasure?
l9l	Cleopatra	Not now to hear thee sing. I take no pleasure
l10l		In aught an eunuch has. ’Tis well for thee
l11l		That, being unseminared, thy freer thoughts
l12l		May not fly forth of Egypt. Hast thou affections?
l13l	Mardian	Yes, gracious madam.
l14l	Cleopatra	Indeed?
l15l	Mardian	Not in deed, madam, for I can do nothing
l16l		But what indeed is honest to be done.
l17l		Yet have I fierce affections, and think
l18l		What Venus did with Mars.
	Cleopatra	O, Charmian,
l19l		Where think’st thou he is now? Stands he or sits he?
l20l		Or does he walk? Or is he on his horse?
l21l		O happy horse, to bear the weight of Antony!
l22l		Do bravely, horse, for wot’st thou whom thou mov’st?—
l23l		The demi-Atlas of this earth, the arm
l24l		And burgonet of men. He’s speaking now,
l25l		Or murmuring “Where’s my serpent of old Nile?”—
l26l		For so he calls me. Now I feed myself
l27l		With most delicious poison. Think on me,
l28l		That am with Phoebus’ amorous pinches black,
l29l		And wrinkled deep in time. Broad-fronted Caesar,
l30l		When thou wast here above the ground I was
l31l		A morsel for a monarch, and great Pompey
l32l		Would stand and make his eyes grow in my brow.
l33l		There would he anchor his aspect, and die
l34l		With looking on his life.
		(Enter Alexas)
		
	Alexas	 Sovereign of Egypt, hail!
l35l	Cleopatra	How much unlike art thou Mark Antony!
l36l		Yet, coming from him, that great medicine hath
l37l		With his tinct gilded thee. How goes it
l38l		With my brave Mark Antony?
	Alexas	Last thing he did, dear Queen,
l39l		He kissed—the last of many doubled kisses—
l40l		This orient pearl. His speech sticks in my heart.
l41l	Cleopatra	Mine ear must pluck it thence.
	Alexas	“Good friend,” quoth he,
l42l		“Say the firm Roman to great Egypt sends
l43l		This treasure of an oyster# at whose foot,
l44l		To mend the petty present, I will piece
l45l		Her opulent throne with kingdoms. All the East,
l46l		Say thou, shall call her mistress.” So he nodded,
l47l		And soberly did mount an arm-jaunced steed,
l48l		Who neighed so high that what I would have spoke
l49l		Was beastly dumbed by him.
	Cleopatra	What, was he sad or merry?
l50l	Alexas	Like to the time o’ th’ year between the extremes
l51l		Of hot and cold, he was nor sad nor merry.
l52l	Cleopatra	O well divided disposition! Note him,
l53l		Note him, good Charmian, ’tis the man# but note him.
l54l		He was not sad, for he would shine on those
l55l		That make their looks by his# he was not merry,
l56l		Which seemed to tell them his remembrance lay
l57l		In Egypt with his joy# but between both.
l58l		O heavenly mingle! Be’st thou sad or merry,
l59l		The violence of either thee becomes#
l60l		So does it no man else. Met’st thou my posts?
l61l	Alexas	Ay, madam, twenty several messengers.
l62l		Why do you send so thick?
	Cleopatra	Who’s born that day
l63l		When I forget to send to Antony
l64l		Shall die a beggar. Ink and paper, Charmian!
l65l		Welcome, my good Alexas. Did I, Charmian,
l66l		Ever love Caesar so?
	Charmian	O, that brave Caesar!
l67l	Cleopatra	Be choked with such another emphasis!
l68l		Say “the brave Antony”.
	Charmian	The valiant Caesar.
l69l	Cleopatra	By Isis, I will give thee bloody teeth
l70l		If thou with Caesar paragon again
l71l		My man of men.
	Charmian	By your most gracious pardon,
l72l		I sing but after you.
	Cleopatra	My salad days,
l73l		When I was green in judgement, cold in blood,
l74l		To say as I said then. But come, away,
l75l		Get me ink and paper.
l76l		He shall have every day a several greeting,
l77l		Or I’ll unpeople Egypt.
		(Exeunt)